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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559128">and they were roommates</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Time_Thief/pseuds/Time_Thief'>Time_Thief</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M, Two Fathers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 12:01:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,098</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25559128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Time_Thief/pseuds/Time_Thief</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Brave and Crow stumble upon co-parenthood in the form of a dumpster baby</p><p>but they're JUST. ROOMMATES.<br/>-wink-</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brave/Crow Hogan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>and they were roommates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for day 9 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Month 2020</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>            Pillars of clouds climbed towards heaven in the blue sky. Crow held a flat hand to his forehead to shield his eyes and smiled. Perfect day for his final written exam. His Sector Security job was practically in the bag, and he’d never have to deliver a damn package again!</p><p>            He cut through a City alley, a regular shortcut of his. He nearly slipped on a puddle of grime on his way. He shook out his foot to fling off the sludge. Back in his Satellite days, he never considered the City could have its dirty patches; he assumed it a utopia.</p><p>            Crow kept on towards the end. He paused. A silhouette filled the alley exit. He scowled. He’d recognize that stupid haircut anywhere. Crow yelled, “The hell are you still doing here? The WRGP ended ages ago!”</p><p>            The dude with the dumb red dragon hair had his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. His button-up was of matching color, but his loafers were brown. Dumb, Crow thought, so dumb. Brave was the worst of Team Ragnarok in his eyes.</p><p>            The hostility didn’t affect Brave’s smirk. “New Domino City has the best circuit in the world. You’ll be seeing me on the big screens every day.”</p><p>            “Yeah right! You couldn’t duel your way out of a paper bag!”</p><p>            Crow crossed his arms behind his head and grinned. “True! That’s why I have it made! My teammates will do all the work for me!”</p><p>            “Shithead,” Crow grumbled.</p><p>            “It is good I ran into you,” Brave said. “Where is your team’s entry for the next season? Why is there no Team 5D’s?”</p><p>            “’Cause there’s more to life than card games!”</p><p>            Brave chuckled and shook his head. He toed the ground with his stupid loafers. “It’s in your blood. You know this.”</p><p>            “Some of us have lives outside of a dumb card game!”</p><p>            “Dumb- you swallow the word!”</p><p>            “No!”</p><p>            “<em>Swallow it</em>!” Brave demanded.</p><p>            A whine prevented Crow from retorting. The pair exchanged confused looks. Crying started up beside them. Both looked to the dumpster in the alley. Hesitantly, they approached the closed lid.</p><p>            “You do it,” Crow said.</p><p>            “What? No!”</p><p>            “C’mon, man! Whatever’s in there needs help!”</p><p>            “You’re the Signer!”</p><p>            “And you’re the god-chosen-whatever-the-fuck!”</p><p>            Brave grimaced. He reached for the dumpster lid and stopped. Crow rolled his eyes and moved to open the dumpster. The two opened the lid together. Brave staggered back a step. “Wh- how is this possible?”</p><p>            A flesh-and-blood infant cried in a car seat, which had been lobbed into the dumpster. The sigh Crow heaved left him slouching. “Damn. Seen it happened back in the Satellite. Somebody has a kid they have no idea how to take care of, so they just… toss it. Like it ain’t even a human being! Don’t worry. This little guy isn’t trash. I’ll take care of him.”</p><p>            Crow reached into the dumpster. A hand clamped on his forearm. Brave pinned him with a glare. “How can I trust you to care for a child alone?”</p><p>            “Dude, we talked about this! It was a whole thing! I did it all the time back in the Satellite!”</p><p>            “Then you remember I did the same in my home country.”</p><p>            “Y-” Crow shut his mouth before he said something he’d regret. “What d’you expect me to do then, huh? Leave the guy alone?”</p><p>            Brave hefted up the car seat. “Firstly, she’s a she, and secondly, I said I cannot trust you to care for her <em>alone</em>.”</p><p>            Crow’s eyebrows shot up. “No. Nonono! I am <em>not</em> putting up with you longer than I have to!”</p><p>            Brave threw his nose into the air. “Then I will raise her myself.”</p><p>            The corners of Crow’s mouth curved downward. Stupid Swede. Stupidstupidstupid-</p><p>            “Fine!”</p><hr/><p> </p><p>            Crow dumped a box of belongings onto his brand-new comforter. He picked through his items to figure out which weren’t child-safe. He said, “Listen, dude. We’re just roommates. You got that?”</p><p>            “No problems from me,” Brave commented from beside the bedroom window. He rocked the baby in his arms. She laughed, and he smiled. Crow hated that stupidly photogenic smile.</p><p>            “I’m getting that birth certificate tomorrow.”</p><p>            “Forging, you mean,” Brave said.</p><p>            “How else are we gonna-” Crow exhaled through his nostrils and lowered his volume. “Point is, we gotta settle on a name.”</p><p>            “You want my input for once?”</p><p>            “Not that I want to!” he shouted. “I’d do it all myself, but we gotta keep at least some peace between us if we’re roommates <em>and</em> co-parents! You get that, right? So if I catch you stealing my food out of the fridge one more time-”</p><p>            “You’ll never quit bringing that up, eh. You nag enough to be the mum.”</p><p>            Crow looked like he’d just been slapped. “Excuse me?”</p><p>            “In which case,” Brave said, handing the girl to Crow with an angelic smile, “you can feed her today.”</p><p>            Keeping to himself how much he fucking hated Brave was a struggle and a half. He backed up a step on his way to fetch a bottle of formula. His heel hit one of his moving boxes. Crow held tight onto the kid as he careened towards the floorboards.</p><p>            The crook of an elbow caught him. He cracked an eye open. Brave scanned his face. For once, he didn’t seem smug or snarky or mad. Hell, the guy looked almost concerned. Brave scanned Crow’s face before helping him to stand upright.</p><p>            Crow braced himself for the inevitable comment like, “Watch where you’re going next time” or “try not to kill our child” – et cetera.</p><p>            “I’ll help you unpack,” Brave said.</p><p>            “Huh?”</p><p>            “You take care of her for now,” Brave said, “and I’ll give you a hand, yea?”</p><p>            “Er. Sure.”</p><p>            The dude went about putting Crow’s pillows in their proper pillowcases. Crow had to take a moment to collect his bearings.</p><p>            Weird…</p><p> </p><hr/><p>            A few months into Crow’s new living arrangement, he came home to nobody being there. He panicked. More than a little. Then he realized all of Brave’s things were still there as well as the car seat. Further investigative work led him to the porch, which neither had utilized.</p><p>            Until today. Brave had set out a pair of lawn chairs and sat watching the sky. Crow slid open the door and stepped out. The baby was asleep in her bouncer seat. A familiar purple symbol lit Brave’s eye.</p><p>            “Been a minute since you’ve used it,” Crow said.</p><p>            “A bad habit,” Brave said. He blinked and the Rune Eye was gone. “I have nightmares, sometimes, and when I awake I must check the sky. I must make sure it is empty.”</p><p>            “Ah.”</p><p>            Crow twiddled his thumbs. Brave studied the railing.</p><p>            “Do you ever think about it?” Brave asked. “Your experiences on the Ark Cradle?”</p><p>            “Oh. Er. Nah. To be honest, I think back to the Dark Signers more. Shit was ten kinds of messed up.”</p><p>            “The Ark Cradle was not?”</p><p>            “It was, like, three kinds of messed up.”</p><p>            Brave <em>laughed</em>. “A way with English you have.”</p><p>            “Whatever, dude! You talk like Yoda sometimes!”</p><p>            “Do not!” he exclaimed. After a moment of silence, he said, “What is a ‘Yoda?’”</p><p>            Crow busted a gut. “We gotta marathon Star Wars! Er, after the party, anyway!”</p><p>            “After.” Brave nodded. “How many are you inviting?”</p><p>            “Everyone!”</p><p>            “I see. I know only my team.”</p><p>            “That’s fine. My friends are your friends!”</p><p>            He peered at Crow. “Really?”</p><p>            “Hell yeah! It’s gonna be lit!”</p><hr/><p> </p><p>            The infant smashed her fists into the miniature cake and laughed and laughed. The room was divided into faces of glee and disapproval. Luna clapped and giggled. “She’s sooo cute! Vera’s a pretty name! Where’s it from?”</p><p>            “My gram,” Brave said.</p><p>            “She’d be ashamed,” Dragan said.</p><p>            Crow’d never seen Brave fall into hysterics. “What? Why?”</p><p>            Dragan folded his arms over his chest. “You started her off with <em>chocolate</em>.”</p><p>            “Aye,” Halldor said, “vanilla pound would be the correct choice. How could you get a <em>smash</em> cake and not also have it <em>pound</em>? You missed a clear opportunity.”</p><p>            On Crow’s side of the room, Akiza made a noise of disgust. “She’s just… tearing it to pieces. Honestly, this just shows me once again how much children aren’t my thing. I mean, all <em>that</em>…”</p><p>            She waved her hand at the entire spectacle: the balloons, the streamers, the “HAPPY BIRTHDAY VERA” banner. Yusei said, “C’mon. Isn’t she adorable?”</p><p>            “Ugh,” was all Akiza said.</p><p>            “Appreciate you coming anyways!” Crow said.</p><p>            “Yes,” Jack responded as though Crow had spoken to him and only him. “Now where’s the beer?”</p><p>            “There’s not- dude. She’s a baby. We don’t really keep that stuff around.”</p><p>            Jack’s nose twisted. “Why am I here?”</p><p>            “It’s my kid’s birthday!”</p><p>            “Oh.” His demeanor changed. “So she <em>is</em> yours. And Brave’s. You two are-”</p><p>            “Co-parents!” Crow blurted. “We’re roommates. We’re just roommates.”</p><p>            The looks the attendees gave were… unconvinced. Across the room, Crow caught Leo muttering to Luna: “Ohh my Goood, they were roommaaaates!”</p><p>            Over Luna’s laughter, Crow shouted, “Shut the hell up! I don’t need this from you! You’re supposed to be her aunties and uncles and be on <em>my </em>side!”</p><p>            Leo waved his hands in front of his face. “We’re totally on your side! Look – we bought her a bow! Everybody’ll know she’s a girl even though she’d totally bald!”</p><p>            “She is <em>not</em> bald!” Brave and Crow shouted at the same time.</p><p>            “Aw, look at how in sync they are!” Luna said.</p><p>            Crow exclaimed, “No, we’re not- we are <em>not</em>- that’s it! Everybody out!”</p><p>            The guests shuffled out. Crow noticed Halldor and Dragan patting Brave’s shoulder almost as if offering condolences. Right. Probably because he has to live with a screaming, overreacting mess like Crow. He regretted blowing up the instant the Signers left.</p><p>            Brave appeared forlorn as he took down the decorations he’d worked on putting up. Crow tried to speak. He scratched beneath his hair. Vera threw another piece of cake. Brave sighed. Swallowing his pride, Crow said, “I’m sorry, man. I totally blew it.”</p><p>            “I understand,” Brave murmured. “I’ve been teased over it before, and it is not fun. I wish your friends would respect you.”</p><p>            “I’m sure they do, just- Leo and Luna, they’re kids themselves, y’know, and- our situation <em>is </em>weird! Right?”</p><p>            Brave scooped up a portion of cake. “Correct.”</p><p>            “They’ll get it someday. That it is the way it is.”</p><p>            “Yea,” he said. He took a step towards Crow with the cake in his palm.</p><p>            “And I shouldn’t have to worry about it being weird, because-”</p><p>            Brave smeared the chocolate cake on Crow’s face. He broke down laughing. Crow was stunned. Paralyzed. No way his stupid roommate had gone and done that like a goddamned groom to a bride.</p><p>            And no way was he going to take it sitting down.</p><p>            He grabbed a fistful of cake and shoved it into Brave’s face. Vera shrieked with laughter. Brave laughed, too. He giggled like the whole day was some kind of joke. Crow said, “How are you so happy all of a sudden?”</p><p>            “I am. I am, at the end of today, glad to be here with you. This arrangement is very nice.”</p><p>            “…You mean it?”</p><p>            “Yea!”</p><p>            Crow was, once again, paralyzed by the sudden shift from Brave. They’d warmed up to each other, sure, but he never guessed Brave <em>liked</em> working together with him. While lost in thought, Brave reached forward to wipe away a speck of frosting.</p><p>            “We-” Crow gulped. “We’re just roommates, right?”</p><p>            Brave stared at him. Sad, almost.</p><p>            Crow continued: “Because, well, a <em>relationship</em> would be- It’s the easy road to take. Do you get it? It’s what everyone expects! The two guys raising a baby to fall in love or whatever! I don’t want to do something just ‘cause it’s easy!”</p><p>            Brave chuckled then cupped his mouth as though to share a secret. Crow leaned in close. “Dealing with you, Crow, is far from easy.”</p><p>            He thought on whether that was some kinda flirt or whether he was supposed to be offended or what. Brave kept on staring. He was closer than before, Crow realized. The guy was… tall. Crow leaned up on his tiptoes.</p><p>            Their kiss was long, deep, and chocolatey.</p><p>            Brave broke off and Crow was grateful because he needed to breathe but also did not quite want to. Brave said, “Well, <em>roommate</em>, I must go get myself cleaned up.”</p><p>            “Yeah.” Crow blinked. “Yeah, sure, roomie.”</p><p>            Brave winked on his way out. It took Crow several minutes to collect himself. He set his hands on either side of Vera’s smash cake and whispered, “You just had the best fucking party I’ve ever been to.”</p>
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